Of all the joints in the human body, knee pain is the most common complaint. The knee joint is complex and it is heavily loaded during different types of physical activity, so there can be many causes of pain. Knee pain, even if it occurs occasionally and goes away on its own, should not be ignored.
Knee pain, no matter the intensity, can seriously impact quality of life. Your favorite type of outdoor activity isn't fun, productivity is reduced, and simple shopping trips become a problem.
In our article, we'll consider what to do if a knee is injured, how to treat it, and whether it's possible to get rid of the knee discomfort forever - a final issue that's particularly relevant to older adults considering sedentary exercise and joint pain syndromes that are age-insensitiveMissing companion.
Pain diagnosis
- It is necessary to find out the nature of the pain. The pain may be sharp, burning, stinging, aching.
- Eliminates pain flare-ups - at night, after exertion, when walking, in the morning with sudden sharp pain.
- Are there any other signs of joint damage: swelling, congestion (redness), joint deformity, creaking, limited mobility.
- Check for a history of infection, stress, leg injury, or increased physical activity.
- Instrumental examinations in medical and preventive facilities (LPU) - blood tests, X-ray diagnostics, synovial fluid analysis.
Causes of knee pain
There are more than 200 joint pathologies, most of which are accompanied by more than just pain. Only with complex symptoms and examinations can you determine the cause of your knee injury.
trauma pathology
In traumatic pathology, knee pain occurs from joint injury (hitting, falls, prolonged compression of the joint - typical symptoms in athletes) or general ailments of the body.
Let's consider the main trauma pathology.
Knee fracture
Fracture or displacement of the patella, fracture of the femur and/or tibial condyle. When you fall from a height, in case of car accident etc.
Victims experience sharp, severe pain at the moment of impact that does not stop over time, it may diminish slightly but intensifies with compression or walking.
Joint swelling, deformity, congestion (hemoarthrosis), non-bending of the knee, abnormal movement of the patella.
dislocated knee
It is characterized by the displacement of the bones of a joint relative to each other. Knee dislocations have different complexities (complete, incomplete, complex soft tissue rupture, etc. ).
Habitual dislocations result from knee injury or congenital anomalies: weak or overly elastic ligaments, a flat sliding path of the femur in the joint, and a high patella.
Knee dislocation is a pretty serious injury, and everything can end in serious complications if left untreated. Knee dislocations are the most painful of all types, although they are rare.
Serious injuries such as dislocations should be treated in a medical facility without independent intervention. That's what traumatologists do.
Sprains, tendons, ligaments rupture
Depending on the extent of the injury (partial break in a single fiber, incomplete tear, complete break), the following symptoms may occur: creaking and clicking during movement, bruising below the break, limited joint flexion and extension, knee swelling, Joint hypermobility (complete rupture of ligaments). The pain is sharp and severe, but may not appear immediately with minor injuries, but after a while.
Bursitis
Inflammation of the bursa around the joints due to trauma, infection, metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases. It often occurs in athletes and people who gain weight. The knee is swollen, and the pain varies in intensity but increases with exertion and nighttime.
Meniscus tear
May be the result of trauma or degenerative changes in cartilage tissue. Acute trauma is characterized by severe pain, swelling, and limited mobility. Symptoms of degenerative changes are mild.
joint disease
Knee pain may be a symptom of the disease.
we listedThe most common conditions of knee pain syndrome:
Rheumatism
There are far fewer such diagnoses than in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is both due to the discovery of penicillin (and then the production of other antibiotics) and the poor diagnostic power in the past, when nearly all joint disease was attributed to rheumatism.
A hallmark of rheumatism is alternating pain in the joints: first, one joint becomes inflamed, then the other. For example, knee pain subsides but occurs in another large joint (elbow, hip).
Rheumatism, which is more common in children and adolescents, develops following upper respiratory streptococcal infection.
Note: Advanced rheumatism can cause damage to the heart (rheumatic heart disease) or nervous system (chorea).
reactive arthritis
It is more common in people of childbearing age because joint inflammation is often caused by pathogenic microorganisms that enter the body through sex.
More rarely, reactive arthritis is caused by a gastrointestinal infection or an infectious inflammation of the nasopharynx (sore throat, flu). After 1-4 weeks of illness, the patient noticed that his legs started to hurt at night.
Both the large joints (knees, ankles) and the small joints (pain or pain in the big toe) are inflamed and painful. Knee pain with swelling and/or redness.
Sometimes symptoms include conjunctivitis (inflammation and pain in the eyes) and keratosis (thickening of the skin on the soles of the feet).
Wright syndrome
Urethritis (frequent urination, painful urination) and bowel disease are among the common symptoms of reactive arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
Elderly sick. Knee pain periodically at night "because of the weather". Loading on the joints (walking for long periods of time) can increase pain, swelling, and impair joint mobility.
After resting and warming up, the pain goes away.
Baker's cyst
Swelling in the back of the knee, causing a feeling of contraction and difficulty moving.
Osteochondritis dissecans (Corning's disease)
The cartilage covering the bone flakes off, the knee is sore, and when the debris is completely peeled off, the movement of the joint is hindered.
Osgood-Schlatter disease
It is more often diagnosed in adolescents. Knee pain worsens when going up and down stairs and squatting.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
An autoimmune disease whose mechanism is unknown. Notably, the starting environment is the immune system's usual load list: from stress and infection to hypothermia. The immune system that attacks its own cells causes inflammation of the joints, especially the synovium.
Under the influence of immune cell attack, the membrane swells, increases in volume, and then begins to grow into nearby cartilage and bone tissue. The result of the procedure was knee pain that became unbearable in the second half of the night.
The disease persists for many years, and treatment includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, gold preparations, immunosuppressants, and antimalarial drugs.
Caused by improper metabolism. Due to the abuse of alcohol, "purine" products (meat, bacon, pickles).
Uric acid produced in the blood is deposited in the joints in the form of sodium urate crystals. More and more "deposits" gradually affect the mobility of the joints, resulting in severe pain episodes with gradually shortened intervals.
Vascular pain in the knee is characterized by a pulling sensation along the veins, and sometimes the patient presents with an acute tingling sensation.
If there is no obvious injury, only a detailed examination by a doctor can tell why the knee hurts. Rubbing your knees with "help your neighbor" drugs is unwise. After all, what helps heal joint damage may exacerbate the disease's autoimmune mechanisms.
Knee Pain Treatment
Doctors choose treatment options based on the diagnosis.
Treatment measures are aimed at combating:
- With the cause of the disease - infection, tumor, abnormal metabolic processes, failure of the immune system.
- With pain syndrome - symptomatic treatment includes pain medication, intra-articular block.
- Degenerative process - Medications containing chondroprotective agents help restore the cartilage tissue of the joint.
If necessary, resort to surgery, built-in prostheses, physical therapy for the joints, and therapeutic exercise.
Pain relief products
Checklist for knee pain sufferers - how to relieve the condition.
| cause of pain | what to do |
|---|---|
| Pain apparently caused by trauma | Provide joint and limb immobility, ice, or cold compresses on the knee. Get medical attention immediately. |
| Arthritis pain (reactive, rheumatoid, etc. ) | Specific treatment with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs is prescribed only by a doctor. For nighttime pain, you can use a warm compress with a bee venom-based ointment. |
| Joint pain after exercise or at night (post-traumatic, age-related, overweight people) | Any heat is compresses with herbal tinctures, and ointments are applied with chondroprotective agents. |
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can relieve severe joint pain.
But most patients (overweight people, age-related joint changes) don't have to think about how to deal with pain if they adhere to the precautionary minimum:
- Appropriate nutrition with sufficient calcium and vitamins to combat overweight;
- Reduce severe stress on joints until changing jobs, if it involves "standing" all day;
- Systemic physical therapy to strengthen muscles and ligaments - a good muscular corset can reduce the burden on bones;
Joint disease can develop over the years and lead to a significant deterioration in quality of life. Prompt doctor visits and a range of folk remedies will help keep exercise fun into old age.
Home combined therapy - folk remedies
The course uses homemade formulations of ointments and compresses based on natural ingredients - the only way to achieve long-lasting results.
7 Simple Folk Remedies for Knee Pain:
- Cabbage leaves. Cuts are made on fresh leaves to allow the juices to flow out. Put a spoonful of honey in the middle and apply this "compress" to your knees. The sheets are secured with bandages. Wear a bandage all day or have surgery at night. Burdock and plantain leaves are used in a similar fashion.
- Propolis tincture for arthritis. If the knee is "twisting" at night (dull pain may be due to weather changes and leg pressure), lubricate the joint with the mixture and rub it into the skin until dry. If the knee hurts, then they do a full-on compression: Wet the soft tissue with the tincture and apply it to the joint, cover it with a film, and wrap it in a scarf. The tool can also be used to warm the joint if the knee is sore and already chilled. Likewise, they use tinctures from natural stimulants: aloe vera, kalanchoe, mummy, bee death.
important:Bioactive substances cannot be used if the disease is autoimmune. Stimulants activate the immune system and aggravate the disease.
- Gelatin Compress. Squeeze out a piece of gauze soaked in hot water and pour 1 teaspoon into the center. Gelatin, applied to the joints, wrapped and wrapped in food foil. Repeat the process at night for 14 days. This product promotes joint nutrition and cartilage regeneration.
- A mustard dressing can help if your knee is seriously injured. Take equal parts honey and dry mustard, add warm water and salt until a gruel consistency is formed. Lubricate the knee with the mixture and spread it out with a cloth with film and bandage. Exposure time 20-40 minutes, remove if severe burning sensation occurs. A mustard dressing is used every other day for pain relief.
- In order not to hurt the legs, an oral medication is prepared: the gelatin is stirred in 0. 5 liters of water in the evening and heated to dissolve completely in the morning. Take ¼ – 1/2 cup of this mixture before meals and they drink it for a month.
- Internal goat fat (100 g) is mixed with "Zvezdochka" balm (1 jar) and the resulting ointment is applied to treat venous and joint pain in the knee.
- Kefir mask. 0. 5 liter kefir crumble, plus 1 tsp. soda. The mixture was kept for 6 hours. The liquid is then filtered, moistened with gauze and applied for a few days until the pain goes away.
A combination of traditional medicine and modern methods is recommended for home remedies using folk remedies on a regular basis. Don't wait until the disease has taken hold and proclaims itself with severe pain, deformed joints. Seeing a doctor early will speed up recovery, while chronic conditions are more difficult to cure.
notes:Treatment with folk remedies is permitted only after examination and diagnosis by a doctor.